As autumn arrived, things turned extra spooky on the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast. As the nights grew darker and the leaves began to fall we encounter all manner of restless souls, from trapped spirits to a classic white lady. There’s also a good old-fashioned folk tale about a giant, but even that gets a little gruesome…
EP70 Trapped Spirits & Hidden Treasure
Explore three creepy “real-life” accounts of restless spirits who seemingly can’t rest in peace until their hidden treasure has been discovered.
There are countless tales of people being asked – or scared, rather – into helping unwanted visitors find their treasure so they can rest in peace and, in return, the living can return to living in peace as well.
Some are these tales sound like folk tales, while others are taken more seriously, and in some cases cause great distress to those involved.
EP69 The Poltergeist Fairies; or, the Welsh Hobgoblin
What happens when a fairy turns nasty? It becomes something of a poltergeist!
On this episode of the Ghosts and Folklore podcast, explore the dual nature of the Bwbach, the Welsh hobgoblin with ghost-like powers which, on the one hand, was a nice, helpful, happy household fairy but, on the other, could quickly transform into a terrifying phantom.
So terrifying, in fact, that it could scare people away from their homes and, and in some extreme cases, attack them and drive them to an early grave.
EP68 The White Lady of Oystermouth Castle
Does the ghost of a lady in white really haunt one of Wales’s “most haunted” castles?
When darkness falls on Oystermouth Castle, one of Swansea’s more mysterious inhabitants emerges from the shadows to peer out over the village of Mumbles. And, if you believe the tales, she can even be summoned in a similar way to saying Candyman or Beetlejuice more times that it is safe to do so.
But who is this white lady, and who has see her?
EP67 A Victorian Séance
When corpse candles and deathlike fingers materialise during a séance in Swansea, is it the work of spirits of the dead, or is something else going on?
In this real-life account of a 19th century séance, a group of friends visit a spirit medium for what they believe will be a little light entertainment.
But the paranormal activity spirals out of control, and soon they find themselves trapped in a waking nightmare.
With tables (and heads) being banged, lights in the air, music being played and people screaming and fainting, what was really going on in the darkened room seemingly fizzling with psychic activity?
EP66 The Giant‘s Body
Did an old folk tale of a wicked witch and an evil giant really lead to the discovery of coal in the Welsh valleys?
In this traditional story, a shadow is cast over a once-happy fairy-filled valley when a giant arrives to eat all of the small inhabitants. Their only chance of survival is to kill their unwelcome visitor, but that just poses an even bigger problem – how do you dispose of the rotting body of a giant?
Enjoy these podcasts? Read more about the ghosts and folklore of Wales in The A-Z of Curious Wales!
The A-Z of curious Wales by Mark Rees – as well as Mark’s other weird and wonderful books – is available now from all good bookshops, and online from the books page.
Published in 2019 by The History Press, here’s the blurb:
Wales’ history is packed with peculiar customs and curious characters. Here you will discover alien landscapes, ancient druids and a Victorian ghost hunter.
Find out why revellers would carry a decorated horse’s skull on a pole door to door at Christmastime, how an eccentric inventor hoped to defeat Hitler with his futuristic ray gun, and why a cursed wall is protected by a global corporation for fear it might destroy a town.
From the folklore surrounding the red dragon on the flag, to the evolution of the song ‘Sosban Fach’, this compendium of weird and wonderful facts will surprise and delight even the most knowledgeable resident or visitor.